Warwickshire charity celebrates 10 years supporting people with eating disorders
By James Smith
1st Dec 2023 | Local News
The CEO of a Kenilworth-based charity said she is "humbled and gratified" as it celebrates 10 years of supporting people with eating disorders.
tastelife UK dates back to 2013 when Di Archer and Jean Hart turned their own experiences of their daughters' battling eating disorders, to start helping others in a similar situation.
The two were left frustrated by the lack of resources available to sufferers and their families, and began writing a community course with practical steps for recovery.
That course proved to be so successful that they decided to launch a charity, and have now helped nearly 2,000 people of all ages and backgrounds struggling with eating disorders.
tastelife now also works with schools and young people running preventative programmes to help dispel the myths around such conditions.
And with tastelife having held a gala dinner at St John's Church on Saturday (November 25) to celebrate the milestone, CEO Di said she was full of pride for what they have achieved.
"The course leaders we train are absolutely amazing and we meet the nicest people in the work we do," she told Nub News.
"Whether it is people struggling with eating disorders trying to get their lives back on track, or supporting those who are, we are privileged to work with them.
"Humbling and gratifying sums it up really.
"If someone said to me 10 years ago I would be standing at an amazing venue celebrating the impact of tastelife on so many lives - like I was on Saturday - I wouldn't have believed you."
Early Beginnings
When Di and Jean began devising the initial course, they asked themselves what help they would have wanted when supporting their daughters.
They also said they wanted to create something that understood the feelings of both those suffering with eating disorders as well as the people around them.
"So that's how it began, we started creating a course and to our absolute joy when we launched it, it started to work for other people too," Di explained.
"We came from those very humble beginnings.
"We realised we had something that really helped people. It was initially an eight-session course published in 2013."
The two then began running seminars and workshops before launching the charity to help train the many people who also wanted to run the course.
So the charity then began training community leaders and has now trained 228 people to help run courses and support people further afield.
"Lots of people who were interested wanted training," Di added.
"So the charity tastelife UK was born, we started training people, and it grew from there."
Service Expands
From the beginning, tastelife has been accessible to anyone struggling with eating problems, regardless of whether they have a diagnosis or not.
People can self-refer, or parents and family members can refer themselves or their loved ones to help receive support.
Following the pandemic, courses are now run in-person and online, offering practical advice to help people recover from disorders.
This means the charity now has a global reach, which has been particularly important as eating disorders remain on the rise.
tastelife also launched the Youth Track programme in 2019 which has already reached 10,000 youngsters.
Tailored to schools and youth groups, the programme aims to dispel the myths surrounding eating disorders and educate young people to spot if they are struggling.
"There are lots of things out there - that I used to believe as well - for example that you cannot recover, that you have an eating disorder for life," Di said.
"That is just not true. We know so many people who no longer have issues with food.
"We want to give people permission to talk about eating disorders. It is just stuff and we all have stuff going on in our lives. That's really important."
She added: "People come to us feeling shame or embarrassment and that is one of the key things we are trying to dispel.
"People don't set out to have an eating disorder.
"So one of the first things we do on the course is try to dispel that and lift that pressure off people.
"We have a very complicated culture with food and body image, and it costs a lot to eat well."
Looking forward
Working with young people will continue to be a key focus for the charity moving forward, and it is just about to launch a new version of the Youth Track specifically for church youth groups.
The charity also continues to work with other faith groups and on a number of other projects.
"We are still developing," Di added.
"One of the things we want to do is work out effective ways of reaching more people. We have talked about running a hub for the courses.
"There will be more versions of the Youth Track and we are working on a one-to-one intervention idea with Exeter University.
"And also we are working on something for PSHE lessons in schools called 'Food and Mood' which will help explain the link between food and feelings and what happens when that goes wrong.
"But that is what we know already – there will be more!"
The charity is also appealing for more people to train as course leaders, as it looks to reach new networks, to make sure people of all backgrounds and ages can benefit from the services.
"We know we have resources that help change people's lives and can help prevent eating disorders in the first place."
All of that though, will need money, and the charity is also appealing for help fundraising.
Looking Back
While there are exciting times ahead, Di also said Saturday's event at St John's Church was an excellent chance to look back.
With 92 guests, a band, a three-course meal and a raffle, the gala was a "wonderful night" and provided the charity the chance to thank all those who have helped it grow.
"The gala was amazing. It wasn't my idea, but one of our trustees', to stop and celebrate the 10 years and look back as well as forward," she said.
"It was a fabulous evening.
"The Kenilworth community has been amazing, St John's Church has been supportive from the start, and other people locally too. And of course our wonderful trustees."
But most of all, it is hearing from people who have been helped by the courses and programmes which is the most gratifying for Di.
"On the days when the stress of running a charity is getting to me, you just hear the feedback of one person we have helped and it keeps you going," she said.
"That is why we are here.
"We have a team now of seven people, mainly in Kenilworth, and many of them have had some brush with eating disorders themselves or with family, and they are all so passionate about making a difference.
"I am permanently angry about eating disorders - they are mean and cruel and they steal life from the person affected and those around them.
"That's why we want to change the story of eating disorders for the better in the UK." To find out more about tastelife UK, follow this link to the website.
The charity is also running a match funding campaign via the Big Give - donate here.
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